Monday, January 21, 2013

10 Dumb Things Apparently Brilliant MLM People Do

Brilliant people do a lot of things, but that doesn't mean you should emulate all of them. David DiSalvo compiled a list of 10 such things you should NOT emulate, and those are quite interesting, as many of them are used by MLM folks.

1. Speak with the “official style” to sound like an expert.

A lot of MLM and marketing message is "fake it till you make it". You can't sell? Sell! Once you sell enough, you'll be better at it. And one of the easiest ways to sound authoritative is to lace your speech with jargons and fancy scientific sounding terms, and that's just bull****. You may impress the unscientific folks with pseudoscience... and alienate the more... discerning people.

2. Find the irony in everything and point it out to everyone.

Hmmm. This one is not used much in MLM. Forget this one.

3. Presume that ideas are more important than people.

This one is heavily pushed by MLM, about easy money, any one can do this, blah blah blah. People doesn't matter, just follow the system and you will succeed, etc. etc.

4. Presume that those with degrees from non-exemplary institutions are going nowhere and treat them accordingly.

MLM is very guilty of this, as they go by name recognition. This company was headed by this guy from another company. That company has a deal with certain big name. This product is certified by something or another. This guy hired a big name attorney to check their company. While not specific "institutional", it's the same idea: endorsement by association, and that's a fallacy.

5. When recruiting people to support your vision, pretend like their ideas count, even though you have no intention of using them.

MLM is very much guilty of this, esp. if you run into a bad upline, who's only interested in filling up her matrix / downline spaces. Once you bought the starter kit (i.e. counts as his or her downline), you are shoved under the carpet and forgotten, except for the part where they need to "inspire" you to recruit even more people.

6. Consistently point out flaws in the ideas of others, and make sure it’s clear how you would address those flaws (even though you’ll never really have to).

MLM is very much guilty of this... my way or the highway. You joined "my" organization, you do things "my way". Everybody else is wrong, every other company is wrong, every other critic is wrong. And that's just bull****.

7. Point out to people in lesser rungs of your organization that everyone chooses their careers, and if they aren’t satisfied, it’s because they made bad decisions.

This is a MLM hallmark... if you ask too many questions and don't have enough enthusiasm, you should not be in this biz. Hah!

8. When the rules of the game change, you have absolutely no obligation to inform those affected by the changes about what’s going to happen next (if you do so, it’s merely a courtesy).

MLM companies are usually a one-trick pony... one line of products (just variations). MLM companies thus cannot make a pivot... unless they got hit by legal problems. That is how you can tell if you're dealing with an ethical company... an ethical leader will let all the members know that it's under investigation IMMEDIATELY. Unethical ones never say a thing. (Just look at Zeek Rewards, one sudden shutdown, though it's clear authorities have contacted them weeks in advance)

9. It’s perfectly fine to change how you treat people during the course of any given day.

MLMers who'd been brainwashed by a recruiter-type MLMer do this all the time... everybody is either a potential recruit or someone to be ignored.

10. One’s role justifies whatever is necessary for one to achieve success.

Most MLMers are ethical and when they realize they've been scammed or have received tainted money (i.e. they thought they earned money but it's really a pyramid scheme and they got ill-gotten gains), they'll give it back. However, some are known to hire lawyers to make extravagant claims like "it's not a scam, I'm not giving back a penny". (Again, look at Zeek Rewards)

If you are willing to compromise your own ethics just for a few measly dollars, you need ethical help.

Inspired by
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/neuronarrative/201212/10-dumb-things-ive-learned-brilliant-people

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